Illuminated sign



March 8 1927.

' E. J. KREI-SS ET AL ILLUMINATED SIGN Filed May 1, 1926 Inventor I [Mme/r1 f Km/ks (War/es Kira/w AM A Q4MA Patented Mar. 8, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT o-FFicE.

EDWARD J. KREISS AND CHARLES F. KREISS, 0F BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNORS '10 KREISS SIGN 00., INCL, 0F BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

ILLUMINATED sren.

- Application filed May 1,

This invention relates to an illuminated sign, and more particularly to the canopy or overhead reflector type, in which the display face of the sign panel is illuminated for night advertising or display by a single source of light, housed and practically concealed within a canopy or hood which is arrangedabovethe sign panel to reflect or concentrate the light rays directly down onto the display face. In this style of sign the display face, or that wall of the panel bearing the advertising matter, provides a very desirable sign when the letters or other symbols are finished in black or a dark color, and the background is white, or of a light, contrasting color. Heretoal ore, the dark letters or symbols have been painted directly 011 the light background, but more vivid and desirable results may be obtained by mounting raised letters, finished in black. on a white background. Signs thus constructed are especially adapted for store fronts where, through a maze of surrounding artificial lights, the display face of the sign stands out in boldness. However, when the letters are raised, i. e., have a thickness, they throw or cast dark shadows on the light background which shadows blend more or less with the dark letters, making them indistinct and blurred, and. rendering the sign face more or less illegible and obscure. More especially is this true of a sign having many crowded or small letters,

Various attempts have been made to avoid these blurring shadows, such as the provision of several sources of light directed onto the sign symbols from different angles or directions, but such arrangements have heretofore proved too expensive and impractical for commercial use.

Theprimary object of this invention is to overcome this indistinctnessby forming and arranging the symbols so that the} major: portion of the area of the side wallsthereof is exposed to the light rays. The invention resides in the combination with the 'single'source of light, of the symbols which are so formed and arranged that the major portion of-their side wall areas are exposed to the light rays whereby no shadows,-or'

substantially no shadows, will be cast upon the white background. The invention further resides in the provision of high-light borders on shadow reducing formed letters,

by whichthe letters or. symbols are sharply 192's. Sena-1N0. 106,037.

defined orset ofl' from any shadows which Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. l showing a modification of our invention.-

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view Fig. 5. V

The signillu'strated is of the single face style adapted for being mounted on the front wall of a building, but the invention is equally applicable to a double face'sign in which the sign characters are arrangedon both sides of the sign panel andu from which the canopy extends in opposite directions.

In the form shown, thesign comprises a character-bearing: panel 1 having a canopy or reflector 2 overhanging the single display face 3 for housing? a plurality of electric incandescent bulbs 4 which constitute a single source of light. These bulbs in practice are arranged from twelve to sixteen inches through apart within the canopy, and are of such part of the sign is white, or very light in color. The sign characters or symbols are here represented as letters which may be cut out of wood, stamped fromsheet metal, or molded. These block letters vary as to thickness, but in the average store front signs the. thickness of these letters is from one to two inches, so thatthe. shadows cast would be. comparatively great, and more or r less blur the letters and render them indistinct. In Fig. 1, we have illustrated the ordinary block type of letter at 5, the same casting" depending shadows as at *6, which illustrates the blurring and indistinctness that obtainsl when the letters are crowded or reduced. The present invention includes respect to the source of illumination whereby the major portion of the side wall areas of the letters or symbolsis exposed to the light rays so as to avoid shadows and render the symbols distinct and clear. This we accomplish in the embodiment shown by reducing theunexposed side wall areas as by shaping the lower marginal portions of the different face a'reasof the characters or. letters, as 7, with abevel 8, the angle of which approaches the direct rays from the source of light as near as practicable. When the degree of bevel is coincident with the source of light,

as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4:, then no shadows will be cast from the letter onto the white background. In practice, and according to the depth of the letters, it may not be found desirable to provide a bevel equal to the angle from which the illuminatingsbeams are directed, in which instance the bevel will be made to approach the source of light consistent with the preservation of the boldness with which the raised letters stand out. With such a bevel a slight shadow may be cast, but the cast shadow will be more in the nature of a lighter penumbra shadow which will not blur or render indistinct the legibility of the sign. Consequently, by so shaping the letters to an angle equal to, or approaching, the angle of the illuminating beams, the blurring effect of cast shadows is substantially done away with. In certain letters the lower side walls may incline directly across to the upper side walls so that the lower side walls will actually constitute the face of'the letters.

Thus, the square cut block letter 5 in Fig. l, casts a shadow which tends to close the spaces in the letter between the different face portions, as the legs and cross bar thereof. This obscureness would be added to where the characters are crowded or made on a reduced scale, or where the symbols involve moreor less a network of parts. At 7, in Fig. 3, 'we have illustrated the letter in. accordance with our invention from which the source of light throws no shadows, the

angularity of theborder or marginalpo'r tions of the letter being equal to and coincident with that of the light beams.

This marginal bevel of the symbol may extend'through the thickness thereof as depicted in'Figs. 3 and 4, or only partially so. Thus, inFigs. 5 and 6 the shadow eliminating orreducingbevel9 of letter 10 extends only a fractional part of'the thickness of the letter, from the face thereof and on an angle with the light ray, in which case a light or penumbra shadow would be cast close to the base of the le ter or the point wherethe letter is attached'to 'thebackground, with substantiallyno blurring ef- The light rays from the single source of light contact with the upper side wall area and more or less of the lower side wall area, according to the degree of bevel, so that the major portion of the side wall areas of the diii'erent parts ofa letter is exposed to the source of light. without casting-blurring and obscurin shadows, and Without any additional-expense either in the manufacture or the ope 'ation of the sign.

The embodiment of the invention disclosed in Figures 5 and 6 forms the subject matter of our co-pending application filed August l, 1926, Serial No. 127,014.

\Ve claim as our invention:

1. An illuminated sign using raised letters, comprising, in combination with "a housed overhead source of light and a display panel having a. light background, raised symbols mounted on the background of said, panel having their lower side wall areas inclined towards the source of light substantially at the angle of the incident light ray to expose said side wall areas to the source of light and avoid symbol-blurring shadows being cast from said symbols onto said. background by said source of light. 1

2. An illuminated sign comprising a panel, an overhead reflector containing a source of light and directing the light rays therefrom down onto the panel at a sliaclmvcasting angle thereto, and raised letters mounted on the panel within he dmvnwardly directed light, said letters having the lower edges of their different face portions cut on an angle which coincides with the angle of the incident light ray from the-source of light.

3. An illuminated sign of the canopy type having raised letters on a light background. compris ng, in combination wlth an overhead source of light and a light background onto background.

' EDWARD J. KREISS.

CHARLES F. KREISS. 

